Chapter 30
Chapter thirty
Luna
My hands shake as I grip the steering wheel, navigating the winding drive to Damien’s property. The text I sent him was simple.
Me
I’m coming over. We need to talk.
The old Victorian house comes into view, and it still seems odd that Damien bought this place. It is so unlike the refined billionaire, but as I park next to his Range Rover and look up at the imposing building, it hits me. My masked serial killer bought a serial killer’s property.
Oh, God, is this where he kills?
I press my palms against my thighs to stop them from shaking and concentrate on breathing.
In through my nose, out through my mouth, slow and controlled even though my pulse races like I’ve been running.
Though I know deep in my bones that I’m right, I can’t afford to think about that right now.
There’s a more pressing crisis bearing down on us.
Karen has DNA evidence.
The weight of that fact settles on my shoulders like lead. I should be turning him in, not warning him. But love makes us do terrible things, and I’ve already stepped over lines there’s no stepping back across.
He opens his front door before I reach it. He looks like hell. Not at all like Damien or my wolf. He’s unshaven, his clothes look slept in, his hair sticks up at odd angles, and dark circles bruise the skin beneath his eyes. Guilt twists through my chest because I know it’s because of me.
But I push the emotion away. He made his choices. He built his house of lies.
When our eyes meet, his are a mix of worry, relief, and heat all rolled into one. My body responds the way it always does to him. Arousal floods my veins, and longing tightens in my core. Missing him hurts like a wound that won’t close.
“Luna.”
He says my name as he stands back to let me enter the foyer. It’s still unrenovated, but the space feels larger than it did the first time I was here.
“Come into my office.” He rests his hand on my lower back and leads me off to the right of the foyer. I pull away, unable to bear his touch. I’ll crumble if I let him touch me.
Athena is lying on the sofa, snoring, and I smile despite the churning in my stomach.
“What’s wrong?”
He doesn't bother with pleasantries. He reads me too well.
“Karen came to see me again this morning.” The words tumble out in a rush. “She won’t let go of the idea that you’re connected to the murders. She’s even convinced you’re responsible for murders all over the country.”
“I am. She really is a smart cookie, isn’t she?”
“This isn’t funny, Damien.”
“She’s just fishing, Luna. She can’t tie me to any of them.”
“Are you sure?” My voice catches. “Because they found Range Rover tire tracks and DNA at the Pearson scene.”
He goes still, that mask of control I’d recognize anywhere now sliding into place. But I see a flash of something in his eyes. Not fear, but calculation? The wheels are already turning.
“What did she say?”
His voice is level, but the tightness in his shoulders gives away his tension.
“Just that there are too many registered Range Rovers in Colorado to be able to tie it specifically to you. But they’re running the DNA. Due to an oversight, it wasn’t tested, but it’s on its way to Denver. What if it’s yours?”
“It isn’t.” But he doesn’t sound convinced. “Besides, they don’t have my DNA in any database. Cade made sure of that.”
I wrap my arms around myself, chilled despite the fire roaring in the fireplace. He moves to his desk, pressing a button on what looks like a high-tech communication system. The large monitor on the wall flickers to life, showing a video call interface.
“Cade. We have an issue.”
The man who appears on screen is familiar. The gala. Champagne and canapés, small talk, and his vetting me. Did Damien put him up to it? To make sure I could be trusted? Every moment of that night is tainted by what I know now.
Damien was my watcher, stalker, serial killer lover.
Say that three times fast.
Cade looks the same as Damien usually does in his business persona. Polished, professional, and controlled. If Damien is calling him, he’s part of this. What does he do? Clean up the scenes? Get rid of the evidence? The bodies?
Oh, Jesus. I think I’m going to be sick.
“What kind of issue?” Cade’s voice has an edge to it, the relaxed executive from the gala now replaced by someone harder.
“Karen Mills is still sniffing around. They found tire tracks matching a Range Rover and DNA at the Pearson site, and she’s determined to make a connection.” Damien’s tone is all business now, the CEO taking charge. “I need you to find out what she has and how close she is to building a case.”
I step back, trying to stay out of view of the camera. This conversation feels dangerous, like something I shouldn’t be witnessing.
Cade’s expression darkens. “I fucking told you this would happen. Warned you a dozen times. But you’ve been sloppy, careless, leaving a trail because you’re too busy thinking with your dick to use your brain.”
The words hit me like a slap. Too busy thinking with your dick. The dismissiveness in his tone, the way he reduces me to some sexual distraction that’s made Damien stupid, sets my teeth on edge. How dare he?
“Cade.” Damien’s voice goes flat and cold, that tone I recognize from when he wears his wolf mask. “Shut the fuck up.”
“I’m just saying—”
“I said, shut the fuck up. This is my fault, not hers. Now do your fucking job and find out what Mills knows.”
There’s a long pause where Cade seems to consider pushing back, then thinks better of it. “Give me thirty minutes and I’ll get back to you. But you know I’m right.”
“I don’t need a fucking lecture, Cade. Just handle it.” Damien ends the call with another press of the button.
The office falls silent. I stare at the blank screen, feeling the weight of Cade’s words settling over me.
“It’s not your—”
“Don’t.” I turn away, unable to look at him. “Don’t tell me it’s not my fault when we both know better. If you hadn’t been spending every night with me and killing abusers connected to me, you would’ve been more careful.”
“Luna. Look at me.”
I don’t want to, but something in his commanding tone compels me to turn. He’s moved closer, close enough that I can see the flecks of gold in his eyes.
“This is not your fault.” Each word is deliberate. “I made my choices. I took the risks. The only thing you’re guilty of is being brave enough to warn me about what the sheriff has.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Frustration flares in my chest. “How? What does that mean exactly?”
His jaw tightens, and he retreats behind that wall of control again. “You don’t need to know.”
“There it is.” A harsh laugh forces its way out of my throat, so far removed from actual humor that it sounds like it came from someone else. “There’s the real problem between us, Damien. You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Lying to me. Deciding what I can and can’t handle. Making choices for me.” I take a step back, needing distance. “This is exactly why our relationship will never work. Because you won’t be honest with me. You’ve never been honest with me.”
“I’m trying to protect you—”
“By keeping me in the dark? By making me more complicit in your activities?” My voice rises despite my efforts to stay calm. “Don’t you see how screwed up that is?”
“I won’t put any more of this burden on you. You need to trust me.”
“Trust you?” The words taste bitter as I repeat what I said the other night. “I don’t know if I’ll ever trust you again.”
“I hope that’s not true, because I can’t let you go.”
The familiar possessiveness in his voice makes my pulse jump. Even now, even standing here with our entire world crumbling around us, he can still affect me with nothing more than the tone of his voice.
He closes the distance between us in smooth, deliberate strides, moving the way he always does, like he owns every inch of space his body occupies, like the air itself parts to let him through.
“I love you, Luna. I know you’re hurt, I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be. I’m trying to honor your request for space, but my patience is wearing thin. I can’t lose you. I won’t.”
The declaration sends warmth flooding through my chest. After everything, after all the lies and betrayals, he still has the power to make my heart race with just a few words.
“I don’t know how to trust you again.” The admission rips open wounds I’ve been trying to keep closed. My throat constricts and my eyes burn.
He’s close enough that I can smell his cologne and see the fine lines around his eyes. “Give me another chance to prove that you can. No more secrets between us, Luna. No more lies.”
But even as he says it, his voice carries that familiar note of command, that expectation of obedience that’s always been part of our dynamic. He’s not really asking. He’s demanding because that’s who he is.
“There is no us, Damien.”
“Yes, there is.”
“No, there isn’t. It’s too much. I need time and space to process everything.”
His jaw clenches as he struggles with my answer. Patience has never been one of my wolf’s virtues.
“How much time?”
“I don’t know.”
He studies my face for a long moment, then nods.
“Fine. But don’t take too long, Luna.” He steps closer, and I’m aware of how much bigger he is, how he seems to fill the space around me.
It makes my pulse spike with adrenaline.
“I’m not a patient man. And I’ve already given you more space than I can stand. ”
He leans down, bringing his face close to mine, and his breath caresses my lips. Every instinct screams at me to back away, to maintain the distance I’ve worked so hard to create. But I can’t move, caught in the gravitational pull of his presence.
“Damien—”